Jim Renacci Leaves Governor Race To Launch US Senate Bid Instead

And as many of you also know, several months ago, after witnessing years of dysfunction in Washington, I announced my intention to leave the House of Representatives to run for Governor Ohio.

Rep. Jim Renacci (R-OH) will drop out of Ohio's gubernatorial race to run for the Republican nomination in the state's Senate race, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported on Wednesday.

An avid supporter of President Trump, Renacci said a White House meeting on Wednesday was the turning point in his decision.

OH state treasurer Josh Mandel, who was Republicans' top candidate to oppose Brown, unexpectedly dropped out of the race last week, citing his wife's health.

On Thursday, Congressman Jim Renacci switched gears from being a candidate for governor and announced that he wants the Senate job. "And for that reason I've agreed to answer the call to service and enter the race for United States Senate", Mr. Renacci said. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) because of a health issue with his wife.

Having grown up on the cusp of poverty in western Pennsylvania, and later dedicated myself to raising a family and growing businesses across OH, entering the political arena was never part of the path that I envisioned for my life.

Whoever emerges from the May 8 Republican primary would have their hands full trying to unseat Brown, who has been in the Senate since 2007.

Brown, an Ohio Democrat seeking his third term in the U.S. Senate, now faces Republican Mike Gibbons.

Ohio Democratic Party spokesman Jake Strassberger called Renacci "the poster boy of Washington Republicans who've spent their time in office betraying middle-class workers to make life easier on the wealthy and well-connected". "The fact remains that Mike Gibbons is far better positioned to defeat Sherrod Brown than any member of Congress". Vance, who recently moved back to OH from California, has been courted by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

J.D. Vance, the Middletown, Ohio, native who wrote the best-selling "Hillbilly Elegy" that was often cited in 2016 for insights into Trump's white working-class support, has also been discussed as a potential Republican entrant.

The former football coach's only donation outside of OH, besides his support for Kasich, was $1,000 to the Republican National Committee in 2008, when Sen.

Renacci, who has represented OH in Congress since 2011, would have the president's support in a state Trump won in 2016 by 8 percentage points.